The Impact of Quarantine on Physical Activity, Body Weight, and Eating Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Raghad M Alsaqqa; Raghad M Alasmari; Rawan A Altalhi; Nuha Filfilan

doi:10.7759/cureus.56460

The Impact of Quarantine on Physical Activity, Body Weight, and Eating Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Cureus. 2024 Mar 19;16(3):e56460. doi: 10.7759/cureus.56460. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Raghad M Alsaqqa¹, Raghad M Alasmari¹, Rawan A Altalhi¹, Nuha Filfilan²

Affiliations

¹ College of Medicine, Taif University, Taif, SAU.
² Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Taif University, Taif, SAU.

Abstract

Background Since February 2020, the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Saudi Arabia has been rising. The Saudi Arabian government implemented strict lockdown measures in March 2020 in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. Globally, changes in socioeconomic levels and health during quarantine have been reported. Additional detrimental effects of the stay-at-home mandate include less physical activity among adult populations, anxiety, stress, and emotional eating. This study aimed to assess the impact of quarantine during the COVID‑19 pandemic on physical activity practice and weight. Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted using a newly developed validated online questionnaire survey. The data were collected during quarantine in June 2020, including each adult who lived in Saudi Arabia during the quarantine. The data were reviewed and analyzed using SPSS version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results A total of 4,970 eligible participants completed the study survey. About 78.1% of the study participants performed physical activity inside the house during the pandemic. Overall, 30.9% reported increased body weight during the lockdown, and the most reported cause of increased body weight was feeling bored and empty. Regarding factors associated with physical activity and weight changes, 82.2% of participants aged 25-30 years performed physical activity during the pandemic. Increased weight was significantly higher among participants aged more than 30 years. Conclusions This study shows an increased level of physical activity among the study participants during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among younger, female, and unmarried participants. More than half of the participants reported weight change, either weight gain or weight loss. Weight gain was higher in older participants. Regarding eating habits, there was an increased tendency toward eating a healthy diet.

Keywords: body weight; covid-19; eating behaviors; pandemic; physical activity; quarantine; saudi arabia.